Page 39 of When the Marquess Was Mine
“We should return to the house,” she said over her shoulder, avoiding looking directly at Rob as she reached for her stockings and boots. “It’s gone quite late, and I shall have to change for dinner...”
He started to speak, hesitated, then glanced at Angus, who was packing up the hamper, blissfully unaware. “Of course,” Rob said. He crushed a handful of reeds as he made his way out of the pond.
Angus gathered up the supplies and put them back into the gardener’s cart. Georgiana insisted he help Rob get his boots back on, and then they all headed toward the house. Despite his load, Angus strode along briskly, and soon left them behind.
In truth, they lingered.
The taut moment in the pond, when he held her close and moved to kiss her, she must try to forget. She was taking him back to his family, and it would never happen again. Today would be her secret memory, her moment of daring, like an illicit love affair without the wickedness. It would never happen again.
She could not be sorry for it, though. It had been too muchfun. And since today might well be the last time they had such fun together, she made a conscious effort to recapture the lighthearted air of earlier.
By the time they reached the garden again, Rob was leaning on her arm because he’d forgotten the cane by the pond. Georgiana made a show of pretending to pull him up the three shallow steps near the fountain, and he repaid her by pretending to stumble into her, catching her around the waist. She laughed, and he grinned, and his arm lingered around her as they made their way up the path toward the house.
“Thank you,” he said as they strolled past the honeysuckle hedge. “For a brilliant day. Far better than any I can remember.”
“All six of them?”
“Supreme among them,” he agreed, laughing with her.
It made her heart give a happy leap. It would probably be the last time she pleased him so much, but for this moment it brought her joy. She hoped he truly had enjoyed the day, and that it would weigh in his mind in favor of forgiving her, or perhaps forgetting what she’d done.
They came within sight of the house, the topiary giving way to neat beds of roses and lilies. The late afternoon light slanted steeply across the gravel when Georgiana happened to glance toward the house and catch sight of a visitor, tall and fair. He must be leaving, for Adam held the bridle of his horse. The man had his back to them, checking his horse’s girth, but some premonition warned her why he was here.
She almost stumbled over her own feet. All her logical decisions went straight out the window. This was not how she wanted Rob to learn she’d lied to him. It could be a terrible shock to his system, causing him to fall ill again, or everything might come flooding back to him at the sight of that fellow, and he’d erupt in fury at her.
Her choice was made in the space of a heartbeat. “Let’s go this way,” she said, pulling Rob down the path under the wisteria arbor. “The sun is so bright, I feel a bit light-headed.”
“Should we sit for a moment?” He slowed down.
“No! No.” She shook her head, still towing him toward the back of the house. “I want to go inside. As should you.”
“Of course.” The way he bowed to her wishes, and even pulled her shawl back up over her shoulder, made her feel awful.
A shout from the front of the house made her jump. Rob paused, looking over his shoulder. Heart battering her ribs, Georgiana looked, too, holding her breath.
The tall blond stranger was striding toward them.
“Oh my,” she said, trying to keep her calm. “Please pardon me. I should speak to him. Do go inside, my dear...”
“Someone you know?” asked Rob, letting her push him toward the door.
She nodded vigorously. “I—he wants to speak to me—I’ll go see. It must be a message from my brother, or Lady Sidlow! I’ll just be a moment.”
He threw up one hand in surrender. “Yes, ma’am.” He went inside.
Georgiana whirled around and all but ran toward the angry visitor. As he drew near, her heart sank. This was no polite servant from the duchess; she feared she was facing Rob’s brother instead. Oh Lord, she was in trouble now.
“Fetch that man back,” he demanded without preamble, jerking his head toward the door Rob had gone through.
She purposely blocked the path and bobbed a quick curtsy. “Georgiana Lucas, sir. Delighted to make your acquaintance.”
His blue eyes narrowed. “I am Major Lord Thomas Churchill-Gray,” he said in icy tones. “I’ve come seeking my brother, Lord Westmorland, who Lady Winston quite recently assured me, without a shadow of a doubt, has not set foot on this property.”
Georgiana wet her lips, trying not to look at the house, as if that might prevent anyone from observing this conversation. She lowered her voice. “Yes, she would say that—”
“What the devil is going on?” he interrupted in fury. “That was my brother walking with you!”
“If you want answers, be quiet and let me give them!” she snapped in exasperation. “This way.” She stomped off out of sight of the windows, feeling him close at her heels.
